AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes, don’t worry. The nurse said there’s no concussion, I only have to stay here for an hour because of the school guidelines,” I tell him. The words don’t relieve him, like they did Lorenzo and Aurora. There’s still worry flashing on his features. He lets go of my hand and places it on his lap. “I swear I’m alright. You don’t have to worry, it’s too unusual for you.”
He lets out a quiet chuckle, his face glistening slightly. The smile sends a wave of warmth through my body, opposite to the cold that lined it just a while ago. He’s been worried all this time. He helped bring me here. Why is that so hard to believe? That Elias Miller decided to help me. That he’s been waiting for me to wake up, just to make sure I’m okay. Something sparks inside me.
“I also wanted to tell you that I had a lot of time on my hands when you were here, so I read a couple of pages of your book,” he admits. “I know you’re tired right now, and your head might be hurting, so I thought I’d tell you what happened, or read it to you, so you don’t find yourself getting behind.”
I freeze, and I know my eyebrows rise. “Y-you . . . read my book?” I stammer, not quite believing what he’s just said.
“Yes. I didn’t want you to have to stress about a class because something happened to you. You don’t need to stress now,” he says. “Plus, you wanted the contest between us to be fair, right? How would it be if you had skipped one day of reading, and I hadn’t?”
All of my body heats up as I hear his words. He read the book. For me. It doesn’t even matter to me whether I’m late in reading it, or not. I’m done with school right after the break, it doesn’t matter to me. However, in this scenario, it feels like it matters much more than it should. Elias Miller read my book for me, just because he didn’t want me to stress about it. And even though it’s a simple thing, it feels like so much more coming from him.
A soft smile forms on my lips. “Yes. Yes, I did want it to be fair,” I tell him, almost whispering. Our eyes meet again, and I feel a jolt in the deep pit of my stomach. Something inside me bursts, and I lean closer to hug him. He doesn’t react at first, and I don’t say anything either. I close my eyes.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“For what?”
“For being you.”
He places his hand on my back, sending a wave of heat through my body. For the first time, I feel completely and utterly comfortable around him. No hate, no worry, no fear, no anger. Just truly content. And it feels like I’m finally free. I let go, pushing back to look at him. His face is relieved now, his lips curled upward, giving a spark to his eyes.
“So, would you rather I read it to you now, or are you still too tired to hear the words?” He asks, sliding off the bed and back onto his feet.
“Now is great. I could use a distraction,” I reply. He walks to the corner, where my stuff is stored, and grabs the book. He moves toward the seat, dropping onto it and opening the book before beginning. And although the words might be too much for my head right now, I don’t stop him. Because I don’t think I’ve ever been as glad of someone’s help as I am of his.
Chapter 36 – Quarantanove
Elias
A confetti gun shoots colorful bits of paper into my face, making me shut my eyes. The scraps fall onto the floor, only some pieces resting on my clothes. “Happy Birthday!” Aurora shouts, raising her hands up in the air. A bright grin rests on her face, with her freckles scattered around her cheeks.
Even after I told her over a thousand times not to do anything today, she still defies me. And now I’m covered in confetti. Her smile turns into a frown after I just look at her with no response. “No thank you?” she questions.
“Thank you, but I thought I told you not to do anything,” I remind her. Celebrating my birthday feels wrong. It’s insensitive to celebrate the day. I was raised on that by my dad after the incident, and so I never really worried about it. The most I’ll do is go out with Aurora, but to me, it’s nothing but the day on which I gain a year of life.
Aurora rolls her eyes. “Boohoo, Roland is pushing his sadness on his son. Never seen that, have we?” she mocks. “My mom and dad were both hurt, too, and they still celebrate your birthday with you. I don’t know why you still listen to Roland,” she points out.
It hit the whole family. More than that—the whole group fell apart. Malia Larson’s death on November 27th, 2013, also known as her birthday, might’ve been the biggest thing to happen to our families. My dad, Lucas, Aunt April, Daniel, Malia, and her husband, Andrew Larson. All of them were a group. She was a family friend, and Daniel Hills’s sister. Her death broke almost all of them apart.
Lucas says that’s what made my dad the way he is. That it made everyone different. Mostly everyone separated, through pain or hatred. It’s crazy to think one person could have that much of an effect on that many people.
I never knew them well. I never got to meet her or her daughter, who suffered the same fate. They lived in West Canada with Andrew, and so there was never much of a chance. All I know is that it was a hard time for everyone. It still is.
I guess I just can’t celebrate today without thinking about it anymore. It’s a grieving period, so I don’t really have much of a right to.
“It’s not like I listen to him, but to me, it feels wrong.” I kneel to the ground and start picking up the pieces, as we are in school and can’t just leave them.
Aurora is about to help me before I feel another blow from behind, throwing more confetti my way. I close my eyes again, standing up and turning around to see Lorenzo. “Happy Birthday!” he shouts, raising his arms just as Aurora did. I sigh.
“No one listens to me, I swear,” I mumble.
“Listens about what?” I then hear Violet ask. She’s standing next to Lorenzo, her hair loose as usual.
“Hey, Violet. Don’t worry about it. Are you feeling better?” I ask her. Yesterday’s incident still has a hold on me. I don’t know how it works with her. Does she still feel off today?
“I’m doing great, thank you for asking. But I will worry about it,” she presses.
Aurora is the one to answer for me. “It’s his birthday today,” she announces.
